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One of the most effective tools for managing habitat on wildland property is prescribed fire. Properly used, fire will create plant diversity and excellent habitat for a wide range of wildlife. Most prescribed fires are conducted in the dormant season, December to March. This has been the norm for most land managers because of the ease of burning dryer fuels and cooler temperatures and predictable winds. But, growing season burns can have a more significant impact on habitat than dormant season burns. Growing season burns are generally conducted in April to June, and have a greater effectiveness on controlling unwanted hardwoods, and stimulating native grass growth.

Whether you know it or not, I would bet you have used or benefited from GIS in the last month. In car GPS? Guilty. One of those great web mapping services? Guilty. Check the weather map on your favorite website or channel? Guilty. Our daily lives are more directly tied to GIS than most people think. For those who are still wondering, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is a tool for collecting, storing, manipulating and analyzing data with geographic characteristics.

Pollinators are disappearing, plain and simple. Their presence brings important ecological benefits to all of us on planet Earth, and without them our life as we know it would cease to exist. The importance of these creatures is often neglected, and negative portrayals of our most famous pollinators, the insects, are the billboard for every exterminator company in the modern world. Where are our native pollinators going, and why are they disappearing? Why are they important?